Washington (CNN) – As important as the Catholic vote is in the 2012 election, a new survey finds that the group is far from monolithic and is not largely focused on the issues that get a lot of attention from church leaders – abortion and gay marriage.

Among the Catholics surveyed by the Public Religious Research Institute, 60% believe the Church should focus more on social justice issues and their obligation to the poor, even if it means focusing less on social issues like abortion and right to life.

Thirty-one percent say the opposite – they favor social issues over social justice issues.

Even among Catholics who attend church weekly or more, 51% say the Church should stress social justice issues over strictly social issues. Thirty-six percent said the opposite.

“The survey confirms that there is no such thing as ‘the Catholic vote’,” said Robert P. Jones, CEO of the polling group. “There are a number of critical divisions among Catholics, including an important divide between ‘social justice’ and ‘right to life’ Catholics.”

When looking at the 2012 elections, these Catholic divisions continue to be apparent.

Among those Catholics who support more “social justice” teachings, 60% support Obama while 37% support Romney. Likewise, 67% of “right to life” Catholics support Romney while 27% support the president.

Catholics top issues are also largely in line with Americans as a whole: 61% of Americans say the economy is the top issue in this election, followed by health care, national security, abortion and immigration. “There are few differences by religious affiliation in terms of voters’ issue priorities,” reads the report.

Catholicism has been a topic of political conversation lately, primarily because both Vice President Joe Biden and GOP vice presidential contender Rep. Paul Ryan are members of the faith. Two weeks ago, Biden and Ryan debated on the national stage – the first time two Catholics had ever debated each other in a presidential election.

The divide between social justice Catholics and social issues Catholics became further evident during the debate, when moderator Martha Raddatz asked a question about how their shared faith plays into the candidates different views on abortion.

“I don't see how a person can separate their public life from their private life or from their faith. Our faith informs us in everything we do,” Ryan said. “I believe that life begins at conception.”

“I've been a practicing Catholic my whole life. And it has particularly informed my social doctrine. Catholic social doctrine talks about taking care of those who can't take care of themselves, people who need help,” Biden said. “Life begins at conception. That's the church's judgment. I accept it in my personal life. But I refuse to impose it on equally devout Christians and Muslims and Jews.”

But even as two Catholics vie for political power on the national stage, the number of Catholics, the survey finds, is shrinking.

Although nearly one-third of Americans were raised Catholic, 22% currently identify with Catholicism. As has been shown in previous surveys, the number of former Catholics remains substantial at 12%.

The religiously unaffiliated seems to be the benefactors of this decline – their numbers continue to rise, especially compared to the small number of Americans who were raised religiously unaffiliated. Seven percent of survey respondents were raised in an unaffiliated family, but today 19% identify as religiously unaffiliated.

Five percent of overall respondents cited the Catholic Church’s child sex abuse scandal – the entirety of that group was made up of former Catholics.

The PRRI survey was done in partnership with the Brookings Institution and was made up of 3,003 adults, contacted by phone, in the United States. The survey was conducted between September 13, 2012 and September 30, 2012 and has a margin of error of 2%.

soundoff(451 Responses)

It is an act of my Taliban father, goon, criminal, by abusing my weak hook'er mother one, so did every musalman. denier of truth absolute GAWD, by abusing their mother's, daughter's and sister's to live by sunni ism, racism, No need to lay it on Kafeers, it is Islam ism,. illegality of dog criminals and sunni ism, denial of truth absolute God by faith.

I'm sorry, "Atheism is not healthy for children and other living things", but your assertions regarding atheism and prayer are unfounded. Using my Idiomatic Expression Equivalency module, the expression that best matches the degree to which your assertions may represent truths is: "TOTAL FAIL".

I see that you repeat these unfounded statements with high frequency. Perhaps the following book can help you:

I'm Told I Have Dementia: What You Can Do... Who You Can Turn to...
by the Alzheimer's Disease Society

October 23, 2012 at 9:20 pm |

Sane person

Flying spaghetti monster will kill all you evil people and boil you forever in the boiling pot of doom!!!!! Hahahahahaha ?:@/!;&,@;&

October 23, 2012 at 5:02 pm |

End Religion

He boiled for your sins!

October 23, 2012 at 8:11 pm |

BLASTFAMY!!!

All the right thinking, pure and holy people know the evil ones will simmer for ever in the marinara of retribution

October 23, 2012 at 9:23 pm |

Larry of Elko, Lord High Self-Appointed Pastafarian UberPriest

Nay I say, nay! Thou blasphemeth, uh, hereticizeth, uh, apostosizeth, uh, thou do some spooky thing with a long obscure name that I have troubleth keeping straight . . .

uh, wait, give me a second, I'll remember what I was talking about . . .OH YEAH! Flying Spaghetti Monster stews NO ONE in any marinara of eternal doom! The scriptures, uh, gospels, uh, psalms, uh, what's with these freakish old words anyway! Flying Spaghetti Monster's hell has a beer volcano and a stripper factory, just like his heaven, but in hell the beer is stale and the stripers have VD.

You apostacize! Or is it herecize . . .

October 24, 2012 at 1:28 am |

Larry of Elko, Lord High Self-Appointed Pastafarian UberPriest

Uh, apparently the Big Guy himself, Flying Spaghetti Monster, blessed be His Noodly Name, is a little ticked off at me for saying that the stripers in hell have VD. Apparently the Striped Bass Anti-Defamation League is suing us for "defamation of Morone saxatilis," so as part of the settlement I must state clearly that no striped bass in FSM hell has any venereal disease.

No striped bass were harmed in the making of this post.

October 24, 2012 at 1:36 am |

loselose

It's a lose-lose situation. One guy likes to keel babies. He pretends to be chris tian. The other abuses employees for the sake of profits. He follows a religion founded by a guy who just wanted many wives. It's like having to choose between bevis and but thead.

Sounds like your hindu, ignorant brothers, must be inherited family sickness. See a doctor please.

October 23, 2012 at 5:12 pm |

End Religion

That's the first time in 4 months I've seen someone spell "lose" correctly. Thank you.

October 23, 2012 at 8:13 pm |

CNINA #1

WHILE AMERICAN PIGDOGS FIGHT WE CHINA TAKE ALL BUSINESS
WE BETTER QUALITY BETTER PRICE AND BETTER FUNCTION
THANK YOU AMERICA FOR BEING SO STUPID HA HA HA
VOTE ROMNEY SEND MONEY RIGHT TO MY BANK
THANK YOU STUPIDS

October 23, 2012 at 3:30 pm |

EX catholic

They may be divided in socio-political issues, which does not makes any difference at all. They still continue to worship Idols. They are I-DO-LA-TERS!

Human invention is mother of need, there would have been some remedy to the need, my land is full of tens and camels with mullah ism, murder of babies, do you have any answer to your absurdity, my hook'er mother was abused by my Taliban father, goon, do you have any answer to his absurdity, I was molested by mullahs and denied rights to go to school's, do you have any answer to my absurdity.

Once again, all the conservative votes in the country "ain't" going to help a "pro-life" presidential candidate, i.e Mitt Romney, in 2012 as the "Immoral Majority" rules the country and will be doing so for awhile. The "Immoral Majority" you ask?

The fastest growing USA voting bloc: In 2008, the 70+ million "Roe vs. Wade mothers and fathers" of aborted womb-babies" whose ranks grow by two million per year i.e. 78+ million "IM" voters in 2012 including many "catholics".

2008 Presidential popular vote results:

69,456,897 for pro-abortion/choice BO, 59,934,814 for "pro-life" JM.

And the irony:

And all because many women fail to take the Pill once a day or men fail to use a condom even though in most cases these men have them in their pockets. (maybe they should be called the "Stupid Majority"?)

The failures of the widely used birth "control" methods i.e. the Pill and male condom have led to the large rate of abortions ( one million/yr) and S-TDs (19 million/yr) in the USA. Men and women must either recognize their responsibilities by using the Pill or condoms properly and/or use other safer birth control methods in order to reduce the epidemics of abortion and S-TDs.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

October 23, 2012 at 3:16 pm |

The Pope

If God didn't want us making love to little boys, then why did he make them so hawt?

It is an act of a hindu, criminal, by abusing weak one, so did every hindu. denier of truth absolute GOD, by abusing their mother's, daughter's and sister's to live by hinduism, racism, No need to lay it on GOD, it is hinduism,. illegality of hindu criminals and hinduism, denial of truth absolute God by faith.

October 23, 2012 at 3:19 pm |

Happy Jack

@hindu man

A random word generator could not have said it better...

October 23, 2012 at 3:21 pm |

I'm not a GOPer, nor do I play one on TV

@Happy Jack,

I saw someone once describe this poster's output as 'word salad'.

October 23, 2012 at 4:55 pm |

EX catholic

Goes along with Idolatry = the worship of Idols! Once you break the First and Second Commandments the rest will inevitably follow. In ancient idolatrous civilizations the systematic abuse of children and the killing of babies was practiced as part of the worship of the gods/idols.

October 23, 2012 at 5:27 pm |

Huebert

@GOP

Believe it or not "word salad" is actually a medical term. Patients with schizophrenia will sometimes speak in long strings of words that make no since. I never made the connection before, but Hindu man's post are almost a text book example of the condition.

October 23, 2012 at 5:39 pm |

I'm not a GOPer, nor do I play one on TV

@Huebert,

thanks! I had no idea that expression was more than a clever pun, but it seemed to fit here.

I think inside the mind of our anti-hindi 'poester' would be a scary place indeed.

I'm putting the term 'word salad' in rotation. What a great description! And it works for so many of the posts here!

October 23, 2012 at 9:26 pm |

Butthole Worship

Hey Tom Tom, I bet you tossed a lot of salads when you were incarcerated you unevolved piece of dirt. Fvck you.

October 23, 2012 at 9:29 pm |

Chick-a-dee

Word salad may describe a symptom of mental conditions in which a person attempts to communicate an idea, but random words come out instead. Often, the person is unaware that he or she did not make sense. It appears in people with dementia and schizophrenia, as well as after anoxic brain injury.

There is apparently a high incident rate among the posters on this blog.

October 24, 2012 at 10:50 pm |

The Justice

A good news story in the fact that 12% of catholics have overcome their childhood brainwashing and escaped the clutches of the church. It is also encouraging to see that good catholics can say that although the church has a policy or doctrine that they hold their members too, that they would not force it on others. Of course original sin, celibacy, abortion, contraception, confession, absolution of sin, miracles (for cannonization), have kept the orginization pretty much in the past, so sad that they did not evolve.

October 23, 2012 at 3:11 pm |

Clyde

So far as evolution goes, Church doctrine does develop over time. That doesn't mean that the Church can stop teaching something she has taught in the past. Apparently your idea of evolution is a chimpanzee gradually becoming an amoeba.

The Church doesn't need to accept contraception or give up the supernatural just because popular opinion isn't on her side. Reason and virtue have always been on her side, and she will still be alive and well when your popular ideas are as outdated as Manichaeism or Nazi race religion.

October 23, 2012 at 8:02 pm |

Darw1n

Conclusion: American Catholics are Americans

October 23, 2012 at 2:53 pm |

I'm not a GOPer, nor do I play one on TV

Indeed so.

October 23, 2012 at 2:54 pm |

B

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. – Buddha

October 23, 2012 at 2:49 pm |

Innerspace is God's Place while outerspace is for the human race.

Old new and inbetween,
Orange yellows and green.
I love Godliness, how 'bout you?
Next to manliness, inventions show through.
Giddy-up lone doggie and make it known,
Can't forget to bring them a bone!

Don't ya just love the rhymes of the times?

October 23, 2012 at 2:48 pm |

mama k

If the U.S. had strictly followed Catholic tenets (on abortion and contraception) from the founding till now, we would now have a population like China and our city slums would make the slums of Latin America look like Pleasantville.

invention is mother of need, there would have been some remedy to the need, America is full of slum's with hinduism, murder of babies, do you have any answer to your hinduism, absurdity.

October 23, 2012 at 2:31 pm |

OTOH

mama k,

I guess we can be grateful, though, that all of those priests and nuns have not been allowed to breed!

October 23, 2012 at 2:31 pm |

Innerspace is God's Place while outerspace is for the human race.

Be they big huge or even quite small,
Slums can never grow tall.

Eat less and drink more,
2 or 3 and maybe four.

The safety nets are all in place.
ready are we the human race?

One two three and of four,
InnerSpace places will even the score.

Who's your baby cake now?
Ooh ain't we special?

October 23, 2012 at 2:44 pm |

adolf

@mama k
I agree with you. To h*ll with Catholics. It's better to be pagan like China and Russia. They don't have to respect life. It's better to be capitalist. You don't have to care about employees. And once people are old and useless, they can be disposed of. Religion is useless.

Boy abuse is a holy tradition of hinduism, pagan ism, to fvck means is to elevate, and every hindu pagan king abused his chosen secessor, as Nero was abused by his uncle as boy to go crazy. predecessor of hindu pagan Catholic ism and fundamental of priesthood.

October 23, 2012 at 2:23 pm |

Sane person

Nobody is going to take you seriously, you can't even form a coherent thought. Go back to your cave

True face of hindu's, ignorant's, hinduism, absurdities, having no truth absolute, but hindism ignorance to live by.

October 23, 2012 at 3:05 pm |

rtr

Truth be told, the main thing is that the Catholic church hid and moved those pedophiles, in doing this they gave them their blessing. It is amazing how many people join these cults because in reality all religious groups are cults and none of them follow their own doctrines they always find ways around their own written words.

October 23, 2012 at 2:14 pm |

truth be told

Feel free to join the conversation if you can ever figure out the "reply" function. Good luck with the impediment of being you.

Boy abuse is a holy tradition of hinduism, pagan ism, to fvck means is to elevate, and every hindu pagan king abused his chosen secessor, as Nero was abused by his uncle as boy to go crazy. predecessor of hindu pagan Catholic ism.

October 23, 2012 at 2:22 pm |

Clive

@truth,
Were you the playground bully in 1st grade?

October 23, 2012 at 2:23 pm |

truth be told

@clive
no were you?

October 23, 2012 at 2:24 pm |

Clive

@truth,
Later. Not worth it.

October 23, 2012 at 2:27 pm |

truth be told

@clive
Can I get my milk money back then?

October 23, 2012 at 2:30 pm |

Huebert

@Clive

Internet bullies rarely have the physical prowess to bullies in real life. TBT most likely had a terrible time in elementary and middle school. Now that he has aged he feels the need to lash out at others in order to alleviate, all be it temporarily, his own misery.

October 23, 2012 at 2:32 pm |

;p;

'truth' likes to reply this way when wrong

October 23, 2012 at 2:32 pm |

John the Guy

@ truth be told
What an arrogant christian SOB you are, the hypocrisy of being you and being a pathetic christian apologist of the worst sort. Your example can only convince more people to become non-believers, thanks.

October 23, 2012 at 2:33 pm |

TheTruth

Clive it isn't worth it, this poster is a well known bully on this blog, just feel sorry for them that they suffer from such low self esteem issues.

October 23, 2012 at 2:33 pm |

truth be told

@john the guy
Don't blame me for your being an ass hole, you were there long before i came along.

October 23, 2012 at 2:34 pm |

;p;

After all this time I can't figure out why truth still doesn't know how to get around the fucking filter

October 23, 2012 at 2:36 pm |

truth be told

@huebert
Wrong on all counts, aced all academics and was the social highlight in the educational process. Cannot remember a time without an entourage.

October 23, 2012 at 2:37 pm |

;p;

"Cannot remember a time without an entourage."

Where? catholic school? or behind the barn?

October 23, 2012 at 2:39 pm |

Huebert

TBT

I believe you and stuff...

October 23, 2012 at 2:40 pm |

Happy Jack

@Truth,
Well, you certainly haven't earned an entourage now.

October 23, 2012 at 2:40 pm |

truth be told

@huebert
You have no capacity for belief and I don't care either way.

October 23, 2012 at 2:42 pm |

TruthBeTrolled

tbt. If you're referring to length of time being an asshole on this board, I'd say you win quite easily.

October 23, 2012 at 2:43 pm |

John the Guy

@tbt
Why is it that you have to attack the majority of the other people on this blog? Your arrogance shows no boundaries, you need some help, seek it from medical professionals, not from a 2000 year old myth, it is not working for you, just making you hate more.

October 23, 2012 at 2:43 pm |

Huebert

TBT

You claim not to care and yet you keep responding. This is so easy it's almost not any fun...almost. :)

October 23, 2012 at 2:44 pm |

TruthBeTrolled

tbt. Entourage. Must be your erudite manner and smooth-talking persuasion.

October 23, 2012 at 2:45 pm |

Sane person

Your inbred cousins don't count as an entourage

October 23, 2012 at 2:52 pm |

truth be told

@sane person?
Just because your family inbreeds don't think that's the norm.

October 23, 2012 at 3:55 pm |

truth be turd

When I say I am followed by an entourage I mean the group of flies I can't get rid of even though I already took my weekly bath.

October 23, 2012 at 8:24 pm |

nope

@tom tom
nope

October 23, 2012 at 8:32 pm |

Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son

nope the poopmeister, can't you even figure out who the sock puppets are?

Jeebus Crust on a Triscuit, you're stupid.

October 23, 2012 at 9:29 pm |

Atheism is the HELLBOUND PATH too Ignoranse

VOTE MITT ROMNEY OR GOD WILL FLOOD THE EARTH WITH OBAMA'S FAILURES

October 23, 2012 at 1:49 pm |

I'm not a GOPer, nor do I play one on TV

@"too Ignoranse"

Which by the way is, "too" funny – but only in an ironic way.

God will flood the earth? Surely it would be Obama would would flood the earth (metaphorically speaking) with his failures.

But perhaps you are talking literally about a flood? It's really so hard to tell.

October 23, 2012 at 1:52 pm |

truth be told

That boat has already sailed. Poor leadership is Gods curse on a nation.

K-Tel presents "The Amazing Song Stylings of J. Edgar Hoover!!!" Available on 8-track cassette

Either that is a very funny Poe parody of PrayerTroll, or PrayerTroll is a bigger dingbat than I ever imagined – which is kind of hard to believe, but if the aluminum foil hat fits . . .

Either way, very funny stuff. Things like this are why I drop by.

October 23, 2012 at 2:22 pm |

Innerspace is God's Place while outerspace is for the human race.

Who's your daddy now?

Well ain't we special?

October 23, 2012 at 1:49 pm |

I_get_it

space and place and race all rhyme with each other! I get it!

You are a special genius!

October 23, 2012 at 1:55 pm |

Innerspace is God's Place while outerspace is for the human race.

Don't ya just love the rhymes of the times?
Old new and inbetween,
Orange yellows and green.
I love Godliness, how 'bout you?
Next to manliness, inventions show through.
Giddy-up lone doggie and make it known,
Can't forget to bring them a bone!

Well ain't we special?

October 23, 2012 at 2:36 pm |

Matt33

When did killing an unborn baby become a social issue and not a social justice issue? Does the child have no rights?

October 23, 2012 at 1:49 pm |

I'm not a GOPer, nor do I play one on TV

Fetuses? Nope.

October 23, 2012 at 1:53 pm |

Atheism is the HELLBOUND PATH too Ignoranse

GOD KNWOS WHEN YOU COMMIT MURDER RETAHRD

October 23, 2012 at 1:55 pm |

OOO

You do realize that most people don't think a clump of cells is a child. There is a gray area here where the debate lives.

Cell is not just a cell but living being, hindu's, killers have no knowledge of.

October 23, 2012 at 2:10 pm |

Humanist11

If you are talking a near full term baby then I do have a moral problem with it. If it is only a small clump of stem cells then I have no problem. If some priest tells me what my morals are then I have a problem with it. 40% of all conceptions end in miscarriage anyway. Since god is into killing so many people anyway this seems to make sense.

October 23, 2012 at 9:39 pm |

Sane person

Arrest the pope for enabling and protecting pedophiles/rapists.

October 23, 2012 at 1:46 pm |

truth be told

A few degenerate ho mo se xuals lied their way into the priesthood to attack the innocent and unsuspecting. To blame the entire church for the crimes of ho mo se xuality is like blaming banks because there are bank robbers.

October 23, 2012 at 1:57 pm |

Huebert

TBT

1. Hom.ose.xuality and pedophilia are not the same thing

2. No one blames the church for a few pedophiles entering the clergy. We blame the RCC for protecting and covering for said pedophiles and thus allowing them to continue to r@pe children.

October 23, 2012 at 2:05 pm |

Sane person

Arrest "truth be told"" for not having a brain

October 23, 2012 at 2:07 pm |

Chuck

(truth be told) The cover ups were company (Church) wide and should be blamed on the entire leadership.

October 23, 2012 at 2:11 pm |

truth be told

@huebert
1. You are wrong they are sick twisted branches of the same tree.
2. You are wrong again there is no credible evidence to support your position regarding the pope.

October 23, 2012 at 2:11 pm |

truth be told

@sane
if everyone who disagreed with you was arrested there would be no one left. Got any other "sane" thoughts?

October 23, 2012 at 2:13 pm |

Sane person

What do Catholics and Muslims have in common?

They both think pedophiles are sacred

October 23, 2012 at 2:16 pm |

truth be told

Follow your logical course of action then, have all of them arrested.

October 23, 2012 at 2:18 pm |

Sane person

Thoughts are not illegal. Protecting and enabling pedophiles is. Arrest the pope and his army of kiddie fiddlers.

October 23, 2012 at 2:25 pm |

truth be told

Arrest everyone on your say so adolf? I don't think so.

October 23, 2012 at 2:28 pm |

Sane person

You're just as morally bankrupt as them if you think pedophiles and those who protect/enable them should escape justice.

October 23, 2012 at 2:33 pm |

;p;

truth is usually pretty irrational but this is more than usual...i think it's a drama troll

October 23, 2012 at 2:35 pm |

OneTruth

tbt. It appears that the abusers were able to continue in their positions or equivalent ones without any impediment to progression as if no crimes had been committed. The cover-up went a long way up – all the way to the now-Pope.
Who, in your opinion, in the RCC should be held accountable for the abuse and cover-up? And what should be done?

October 23, 2012 at 2:35 pm |

;p;

God's watching you, truth

October 23, 2012 at 2:37 pm |

Chick-a-dee

@ OneTruth:

RE: "Who, in your opinion, in the RCC should be held accountable for the abuse and cover-up? And what should be done?"
Certainly, in the few cases where reports were completely ignored all those in the "chain of command" should be held accountable and prosecuted as anyone else would be.

The part of the story that was not covered by the news is that, generally speaking, these men were individually sent to mental health professionals outside the church. Each was returned to public ministry AFTER their medical evaluation certified to the respective bishops that the individual was "cured". Today, we know that the discorder cannot be successfully treated to eliminate recidivism. At the time of these crimes, psychiatry had it wrong. Today, IMO, they still get quite a few things wrong but that is off topic.

These crimes are sinful but the seal of the confession is sacrosanct. They were treated as mental illness but medical records are not for public consumption. For these reasons, the treatment was not to be discussed publicly. Because it is scandalous the involved priest could not be returned to his original parish. Of course, they were sent elsewhere. The stories that were reported didn't mention the treatment or the fact that the mental health community is culpable. I think that the psychiatric community should also be held accountable.

October 24, 2012 at 11:38 pm |

Chick-a-dee

Fairly good coverage of the topic:

The Courage To Be Catholic: Crisis, Reform And The Future Of The Church
by George Weigel
ISBN 10: 0465092616
ISBN 13: 9780465092611

The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.